PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vernon Koekemoer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chris Rios (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rios has chosen Beware as his entrance music. Chris Rios has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Koekemoer
vs
Rios

225 cm
25
300 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

200 cm
26
290 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Vernon Koekemoer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Chris Rios!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Taro Takaoka and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Koekemoer wants a takedown.
Koekemoer keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Rios's efforts to push away.

Koekemoer breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Koekemoer takes a swing at Rios's ribcage but misses.
Rios wants to clinch but Koekemoer slips to the side
and Koekemoer counters with a nice uppercut.
Koekemoer fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Koekemoer keeps the fight on the outside.
Rios is looking to clinch but Koekemoer is avoiding it.

Koekemoer rushes Rios and presses him up against the cage.
Koekemoer stalling the fight.

Koekemoer jumps guard and drags Rios to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Koekemoer will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Rios throws an elbow that misses. Koekemoer uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Rios's guard. Nice move by Koekemoer!
Rios is trying to control the position but Koekemoer postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Koekemoer slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Rios being controlled for a moment.

Koekemoer tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Koekemoer has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Rios is being controlled here.
Rios tries to buck Koekemoer off but Koekemoer is having none of it.
Rios gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Rios regains half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rios is positioning himself well to prevent Koekemoer advancing to mount.
Rios trying to control from the bottom.
Well, if Koekemoer is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Koekemoer seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Rios for as long as he can get away with.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rios is trying to control but Koekemoer manages to pass to mount!

Koekemoer looking for a guillotine from mount but Rios is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Koekemoer working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Koekemoer controlling from the full mount.
Koekemoer can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Rios is looking to escape.
Rios is in all sorts of trouble here.
Rios is bucking up trying to escape but Koekemoer cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

Koekemoer stands up from mount. Strange move.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Koekemoer misses with a low kick.

Koekemoer drives through and clinches with Rios against the cage.
Rios lands a hook to the side of the head.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Rios tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Koekemoer's elbow.
Koekemoer misses with a hook from the clinch.
Rios changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Koekemoer fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Rios wants to clinch.
Rios misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Koekemoer fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vernon Koekemoer. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rios will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vernon Koekemoer dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Rios tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Vernon Koekemoer is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Koekemoer throws a series of punches but Rios avoids them all with ease.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Rios.
Koekemoer swats away the attempt to clinch by Rios.
Koekemoer throws a right and a left that both miss.
Koekemoer misses the shot to the body.
Rios wants to clinch

and Koekemoer counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Koekemoer breaks from the clinch.

Koekemoer clinches with his opponent.

Koekemoer pulls guard successfully.
Koekemoer on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Koekemoer tries to get out of the position.
Rios throws a big right hand that misses.
Koekemoer has Rios pulled in close to control his posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Koekemoer's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Koekemoer wants to stand and escape but Rios is having none of it.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Vernon Koekemoer just wasn't active enough.
Rios fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Rios has managed to clinch.
Koekemoer is trying to drag Rios to the mat but Rios just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Rios blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rios is trying to break the clinch but Koekemoer has him pressed against the cage.
Rios lands with a short shot to the head.
Rios drops down looking for an ankle pick but Koekemoer pulls his leg out and moves away.
Vernon Koekemoer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chris Rios.
Koekemoer tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Rios swivels and escapes.
Rios will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Koekemoer fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Rios, pushing him back against the cage.
Rios fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Rios is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Rios is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Koekemoer has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Rios avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Rios misses with a punch on the inside.

Koekemoer pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rios moves in looking to clinch but Koekemoer pushes him off.
Koekemoer shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Rios but Rios pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rios tries to close the distance and clinch but Koekemoer swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Rios shoots in and drives through. Koekemoer sprawls well.
Rios throws a combination. Koekemoer tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Koekemoer misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Rios with a poor takedown

and Koekemoer counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Koekemoer.

Koekemoer gets control of Rios's arms and successfully pulls guard. Koekemoer will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Koekemoer scores with a nice shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Koekemoer wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Koekemoer controls Rios momentarily but Rios frees himself.

Koekemoer working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Rios doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Rios manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rios controls from within his opponent's guard.
Koekemoer lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Rios!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Koekemoer cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vernon Koekemoer dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Rios tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Koekemoer counters with a takedown into side control.
Koekemoer scoring with punches from side control.
Rios tries to bench press Koekemoer off him but Koekemoer keeps the position.
Koekemoer takes a little break here. Rios wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Koekemoer working the head with strikes.

Koekemoer decides to stand up, so the ref orders Rios to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rios is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Koekemoer fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Rios avoids it really well and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rios swats away the attempt to clinch by Koekemoer.
Koekemoer shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Rios moves into the clinch.
Rios blocks an elbow strike from Koekemoer.
Koekemoer stalling the fight.

Koekemoer gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Rios regains guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Rios is on top in guard.
Rios loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Rios really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Koekemoer. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Koekemoer can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Rios controls the pace.
Koekemoer keeping moving, preventing Rios from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Koekemoer is pulling down on Rios's head to control his posture.
Rios missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Vernon Koekemoer has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Koekemoer tries to keep at a distance but Rios has taken the fight into the clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Koekemoer drags the fight down to the ground.
Koekemoer throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Rios throws an elbow that misses. Koekemoer uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Rios's guard. Nice move by Koekemoer!
Koekemoer wants to control from the top but Rios keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rios tries to land a sweep but no joy.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Koekemoer gets to his feet - Rios follows without any prompting.
Rios misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Rios misses with a double jab.

Koekemoer clinches with his opponent.

Koekemoer pulls guard.
Koekemoer bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Rios's guard.
Koekemoer pushes down on Rios's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Koekemoer is keen to just control but Rios is a slippery customer.
Chris Rios has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rios controlling the position for now.
Koekemoer slows the pace down in half guard.
Ground and pound from Koekemoer.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Koekemoer seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Rios does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Koekemoer decides to stand and escape the position.
Koekemoer takes one to the side of the head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rios takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Vernon Koekemoer is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Koekemoer throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Rios tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Koekemoer is in Rios's guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vernon Koekemoer showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Koekemoer, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vernon Koekemoer!